Fall 2014

Runway Trend Watch: Perfect Pants and a Penchant for Velvet

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We're into the heart of fashion week at this point, with trends taking shape for the fall season. There's a restraint to many collections this season, with designers leaning towards pantsuits in all shapes and sizes, and a penchant for velvet.

To us, fall is synonymous with trousers - after a few months in the freedom of sundresses, it ushers in the new season with a sturdy gamine flair. For 2010, those seeking the perfect pantsuit will have their pick of the litter. Designers are showing all kinds of takes, from the deconstructed skin-peep sexpot suit at Alexander Wang to the impeccably clean and pleated slim pants and streamlined jacket at Yigal Azrouel.

Diane von Furstenberg made a rare foray into masculinity, re-imagining the classic gray pinstripe by cropping the pants and topping the jacket with a pastel ruffled bolero. Preen went with classic Annie Hall in wide leg wool, while ADAM went for culottes over tights. Karen Walker presented a pantsuit in sapphire blue velvet, which brings us to our next trend.

The winter softy known as velvet ebbs and flows in the trend radars each season, and this year, with Alexander Wang on board, we're predicting a velvety fall/winter. Walker's doing tailored velvet, while Wang is showing it in stretch. His body-con minis make for some majorly vixen velvet. Erin Fetherston went both ways, constructing slightly softer-edge blazer and legging-like pants as well as a few cocktail dresses in a shinier material that bordered on the crushed velvet variety, but not quite.